Edwards recently penned a new four-year deal with the Welsh Rugby Union, but rather than splitting his time with the Blues, as Thomas previously suggested, he will spend one day a week with an Aviva Premiership side. But Thomas is happy with his coaching combination after the victory in France which he described as "immense."

"We've got a great combination there of Justin and Gareth," Thomas told Wales Online. "They've been around the scene for many years and they're hugely capable coaches.

"They work well with the squad and they've got a tremendous respect. They went out to France with the team they've coached and they got a victory. We've been going to France for 16 years. We've won a few, but we've lost most, so that victory was absolutely immense.

"We've got a good blend of youth and experience and we can see the results of the academy coming through now in boys like Alex Cuthbert, Andries Pretorius and young Lloyd Williams, who had a terrific match, while I thought Dan Parks controlled the game beautifully."

And with the Blues hosting London Irish on Friday, Burnell is looking for his side to build on their "world class" performance against Racing Metro. "We've been in position since the summer and we've worked hard," Burnell said . "We're scoring tries and that's all we can keep doing.

"We're getting the work done in training and hopefully that'll show on the field. I thought some of the performances against Racing were world class."